What if your overwhelming to-do list isn't about poor time management—but about fear management?

In this brutally honest Wednesday Real Stories episode, Heather shares a real-time breakthrough that happened this very morning. Caught in the act of planning seven major initiatives simultaneously (100 interviews, daily content, new programs, spiritual content, and more), she had to face an uncomfortable truth: she wasn't overwhelmed by accident, but by design.

This episode exposes how we use busyness as protection from our own potential and why scattering ourselves thin is the ultimate self-sabotage disguised as productivity.

What's Inside:

• Heather's raw confession about planning seven major projects for the next 100 days
• The exact moment someone held up a mirror and asked "Are you asking too much of yourself?"
• Why she keeps diluting her core expertise (AI for transformational practitioners) with scattered initiatives
• The uncomfortable realisation that overwhelm is often protection, not poor planning
• How fear of focusing on one thing keeps us from discovering if we're actually good enough
• The self-sabotage cycle: pile on everything so nothing gets done brilliantly (and you always have an excuse)
• Three powerful lessons about pattern recognition, trust issues, and the vulnerability of going all-in

The Uncomfortable Truth:

Sometimes we don't trust ourselves enough to succeed at the thing that matters most. So we scatter our energy across multiple projects, ensuring we never have to face the vulnerability of truly succeeding or failing at something important.

Chapters:

• 00:12 - The Dangers of Overcommitment
• 00:49 - The Power of One
• 02:54 - Facing the Truth About Overwhelm
• 04:36 - The Cycle of Self-Sabotage
• 06:11 - Embracing the Power of Focus
• 06:55 - Embracing Growth and Potential

Key Takeaways:

• Overwhelm is often about fear management, not time management—we pile on more because we're terrified of putting all our eggs in one basket
• By trying to do everything, we guarantee nothing gets done brilliantly, protecting us from the vulnerability of real success or failure
• The scattering isn't productivity—it's protection from finding out if we're actually good enough at the thing that matters most
• You don't need seven backup plans if you trust yourself with the first one

The Real-Time Element:

This episode captures a breakthrough as it happens—Heather shares the exact conversation and realisation that occurred just hours before recording, making this one of her most authentic and vulnerable stories yet.

This Week's Courageous Challenge:

Look at your overwhelming to-do list and ask: "What am I protecting myself from by spreading so thin?" Then choose one thing—the thing that scares you most because it matters most—and give it the focus it deserves. Not as one item among many, but as THE thing.

Perfect For:

• Entrepreneurs drowning in their own ambitious plans
• Anyone who feels constantly overwhelmed but can't figure out why
• People who suspect their busyness might be self-sabotage in disguise
• Those ready to stop protecting themselves from their own potential

Connect & Share:

• What's the one thing you're avoiding by staying overwhelmingly busy? Share with us @ChoosingHappyPodcast
• Tag someone who might be protecting themselves with scattered focus
• Visit www.choosinghappypodcast.com for more uncomfortable truths about choosing happiness
• Drop me an email: heather@heathervmasters.com
• Subscribe for weekly episodes that choose authenticity over comfortable lies

Warning: This episode might make you delete half your to-do list. Listen at your own risk of actual focus.

How You Can Support This Independent Podcast:

Please like, share with someone who may need to hear this today, and/or leave a review and support the podcast. I really appreciate it.

Tired of the same patterns keeping you stuck?

Check out the Pattern Breaker Coaching Program: www.choosinghappy.co.uk/pattern-breaker

Want to dive deeper? Drop me an email: heather@heathervmasters.com

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Your support is so appreciated! Thank you!

Hello, and welcome to the Choosing Happy Podcast.

It's Wednesday.

Real stories, and I need to share something uncomfortably honest with you today.

This morning I got up early.

I was planning to launch seven, yes, seven major initiatives simultaneously, and I was calling it ambition, inspiration, but really it was self sabotage dressed up as productivity.

I. I'm juggling lots of stuff already, and creating this would have been madness.

And have you ever wondered if your overwhelm isn't actually about having too much to do, but about being afraid of what might happen if you focused on just one thing and actually succeeded?

I have learned over the last year about the power of one.

And yet I find myself every now and again trying to tripping up and still resisting it.

So stay tuned for more real, powerful moments in today's Choosing Happy Podcast.

So let me take you back to this morning.

I was buzzing with plans.

Today is like a day off for me.

And sometimes when I let go of everything that I should be doing, plans just come into my head.

I wanted to do 100 interviews in 100 days as part of 100 Days of Happy.

I wanted to create a new program for 100 days of happy.

I wanted daily minisodes, creative writing, content, getting spiritual, publicly reaching out to big names, the whole lot.

I had this huge idea of how I was going to finish the year off strong.

And I could feel that familiar energy, that scattered excitement of having a million balls in the air and loads of different tasks to do that would inspire me and get me meeting new people.

And then someone asked me the question that stopped me dead.

Are you asking too much of yourself?

And the honest answer hit me like a brick.

Yes, but not in the way that you might think.

See, I've done this before.

Many times, I pile on project after project, initiative after initiative, until I'm drowning.

And then when nothing gets the attention it deserves, when I'm exhausted and nothing quite works out, I get to say, well, I tried everything.

I'm just too busy.

If only I had more time.

But here's the uncomfortable truth I had to face today.

What if I'm not overwhelmed by accident?

What if I'm overwhelmed by design?

This morning, someone pointed out that my core expertise, AI for transformational practitioners, is brilliant.

It's unique.

It's needed.

It's needed now.

But instead of doubling down on that one thing, I was diluting it with creative writing tips and daily minisodes and spiritual content.

Why?

Because deep down, I don't trust that I can succeed at just one thing.

Because if that one thing fails, what else is there?

Because if I focus everything on my AI work and it doesn't work out, then what?

There's nowhere to hide.

No excuse, no.

But I was doing 700 other things.

The scattering isn't productivity.

It's protection.

It's a way to ensure that I never have to find out if I'm actually good enough.

And as you know, Monday's podcast was all about enough.

So here's what I learned in this brutal moment of honesty this morning.

First of all, the pattern recognition.

And I've covered pattern recognition many times on this podcast.

But overwhelm often isn't about poor time management.

It's about fear of management.

It's about piling on more because we're terrified of putting all our eggs in one basket and discovering the basket has holes.

Or even better, that the basket is successful.

The self sabotage cycle.

By trying to do everything, I guarantee that nothing gets done brilliantly.

There's no follow through, no completion.

Which means I never have to face the vulnerability of truly succeeding or failing at something that matters.

And the trust issue?

This isn't really about time or capacity.

It's about whether I trust myself enough to go all in on something I actually care about.

Whether I believe I'm enough to succeed at the things that feel most important.

Because sometimes when something's important to us, we feel too fearful to give it our all.

Because what if it doesn't work and it's that important?

So I'm asking myself, and maybe you need to ask yourself too.

What am I avoiding by staying so busy?

What would I focus on if I trusted myself completely?

What's the one thing I'm scared to put all my energy into because it actually matters?

And I know the answer to that question for me.

So this week, try this.

Look at your overwhelming to do list and ask, what am I protecting myself from by spreading myself so thin?

Then choose one thing, the thing that scares you the most because it matters the most.

And give it the focus it deserves.

Not as one item among many others, but as the thing.

The one thing.

The power of one.

The overwhelm might be keeping you safe, but it's also keeping you small.

And if there's anything I've learned this week is it's time to get out of my comfort zone.

So if this hits home, I'd love to hear from you.

What's the one thing you're avoiding by staying up overwhelmingly busy?

Share it with me at heather@heathervmasters.com or on social at choosing HappyPodcast.

Sometimes naming the pattern is the first step to breaking it.

And remember, you don't need seven backup plans if you trust yourself with the first one.

Time to get uncomfortable.

Time to focus.

Time to find out what happens when we stop protecting ourselves from our own potential.

Speak soon.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this week's episode.

If you enjoyed it or think it would be valuable to others, please do share.

And if you really enjoyed it, please leave me a review.

It really helps the podcast.

All of the links are in the show notes and I look forward to seeing you next week on the Choosing Happy Podcast.